Facts

Defendant Commercial Waste Services, Inc. (CSW) and its principal owners, Aron Petrosian and Diruhi Sirvart Petrosian were commercial waste haulers. Commercial waste haulers are required to provide surety bonds guaranteeing payment of dump fees to the dump site owners. Liberty's predecessors, Indemnity Company of CA and Developers Surety and Indemnity Co. wrote such bonds for CSW. When CSW failed to pay dump fees, the sureties did. These payments totaled $954,933.41.

CWS and the Petrosians were obligated by written indemnity agreements to indemnify Liberty for Liberty's predecessors' losses, including costs and attorney's fees. When the indemnitors failed to pay, Liberty brought suit to enforce the terms of the indemnity agreements against the indemnitors.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff claimed that defendants were obligated to fully indemnify Liberty for the total of its predecessors' losses, including interest, attorney's fees and costs.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants questioned Liberty's standing to recover for its predecessors' losses and the validity of the bonds in issue.

Damages

$954,933.41

Result

$1,113,194 Stipulated Judgment (CCP section 664.6)